


I fell in Love with Tony Starks' Essence... In Essence

by BloodFireDragon



Category: Iron Man (Comics), Ironheart (Comics), Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616
Genre: A.I. Tony Stark deserves more Love, Artificial Intelligence, Complicated Relationships, Developing Relationship, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, In Love with a Hologram, In Love with an A.I., Other, Phantom Body, Phantom Limbs, Protective Tony Stark, Romantic Fluff, Super slight hints of Depression, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Touch-Starved, Touch-Starved Riri Williams, Touch-Starved Tony Stark, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings, i guess, really it's barely there, technosexuality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2018-11-30
Packaged: 2019-09-02 15:51:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16790014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BloodFireDragon/pseuds/BloodFireDragon
Summary: A short tale about how Riri Williams fell in love with the sassy, annoying and holographic digital consciousness of Tony Stark.(Also posted on tumblr)





	I fell in Love with Tony Starks' Essence... In Essence

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this between 1 and 3 am, when I actually just wanted to write down some notes about this headcanon I've had since a while now. XD
> 
> As you can see, I love Riri and A.I. Tony, and couldn't get over the fact, that if I had an A.I. Tony around me all the time, I would totally fall in love with him. ;-) 
> 
> So here it is:  
> The way too fluffy Riri/A.I. Tony fanfic no one has ever asked for! XD

When Riri had opened that mysterious package and found herself presented with the so called "A.I. Tony Stark" - of whom Riri, of course, knew, that he's not an A.I. at all, but actually a digitized human - she had been excited.

And just to get this clear: She'd been excited about the " _A.I_.". About finally having an assistant for her armor, finally being able to use the suits full potential. 

When she'd discovered, that, in fact, the blue, ghost-ish Tony Stark doppelgänger wasn't an A.I., but a lot more, she'd found herself even more excited, because, _technically_ , this was a completely new species she could analyze and investigate - A real human being converted into a digitized form.

But pretty soon she's also had to realize that working and especially _living_ with Tony Stark was annoying as fuck.

Unfortunately, her privacy-ignorant digital assistant had been delivered without an off- or at least mute switch.

So, yeah... The full _Tony Stark Experience_ ™ seemed to have some glitches.

But still Riri had been greatfull.

Alone the fact, that the flesh-and-bones Tony Stark thought Riris' training and her becoming a real superhero was so important, that he gave her a digital copy of himself, because _he_ _himself_ , in flesh and colour, couldn't always be there for her and give her all the attention she needed...

That was overwhelming!!!

And, to be honest, after a while - and we really aren't talking about a long while, here - Riri had grown extremely fond of her Tony.

They'd become great friends. Great partners in crime.

And like in every real friendship, at some point, she had started loving him.

 _Platonically_. Of course.

Yes, she loved her annoying blue shadow so dearly, she even brought herself into serious live danger, one time, when Tony had been virtually "kidnapped" by some bad guys ( ~~a.k.a. downloaded onto a special flash drive, from which he couldn't escape on his own - but never mention that in front of him! Tonys' ego is still suffering from that traumatizing expierience, he convincingly denies has ever happened~~ ). Riri had fought like a dragon that day.

Even after her armor got broken, and she had to fight without... Tony had still been worth it to her.

_That's_ how much he had meant to her.

So maybe it's understandable, that she hadn't noticed from the very beginning.

Because, seriously, who ever would have expected this?!

She had been 15 years old, when she got to know him. He was a famous playboy billionair (or at least his digital copy) in his thirties. Riri had just started being a superhero; it all had been so exciting.

Way too exciting to really think about the pretty attractive, intelligent and pure-heartedly ghost-man next to her.

I mean, there had been no interest _at_ _all_.

So, really, don't blame her for not realizing from the very beginning, after years of working with A.I. Tony, when the superhero buisness had become a _bit_ more normal and every-day-ish, when Riri got older and Tony stayed the same age he had been, when they first met...

Don't blame Riri for not realizing immediately, that she'd been falling on love with Tony Starks' digitized consciousness.

~~~

It's easy, like friendship.

Her feelings toward him developed slowly and drama-less. It felt _right_.

So of course, she wasn't aware of it at first; it took a good while until she finally realized what she felt for him. _How_ she felt for him.

As you can imagine, that had been a pretty ridicules and dumb moment. When Riri had looked at Tony, both just having had bickered around again as usual; Tony making some sassy coment; then looking at her and waiting for her typical, even sassier reply...

But none had come.

Instead she had looked into his blue flickering eyes and suddenly... _blushed_.

Yeah, that's right! Riri Williams - The always cool, definitely _never_ embarresed Riri Williams had _blushed_!

Internally, she had wanted to smack her own forehead.

Tony had been keeping looking at her, now a bit concerned.

"Hey, Riri? You alright? Ririii? Earth to Ironheart... you there?"

"Huh?" Riri had replied, like just having woken up from a daydream.

And she had wished it had only been a dream. A stupid, ridicules idea; some nonsense that she could easily have blamed on insomnia or a tough superhero day or _whatever_!

But this... This hadn't been a dream. This was real!

In that moment, she knew immediately.

She knew she had been in love with Tony Starks' digitized conciseness since _years_ already.

And never realized.

Until _that_ moment.

And it had been _oh_ _so_ stupid! That stupid, _stupid_ moment!

When she hadn't known what to say, because _oh my_ _gosh_ , she had just realized she's in love with a _hologram_! The hologram of the man who was her mentor and her idol and who had helped her with all that superhero stuff, before he had gifted her with said _hologram_!

It had been all so _weird_.

Is it okay to be in love with a creature without body?

Riri knew it's absolutely normal to be in love with an A.I. (even though many racist idiots say differently). But Tony wasn't an A.I.. He's the perfect copy of someones' consciousness, now trapped inside computers and other digital stuff, only being able to touch stuff, when he trapped himself inside an Iron Man suit, and even then, never actually _feeling_...

Tony had always suffered so much under not being able to feel - Remembering how it _had_ _been_ to have a body with touch sensible senses, but not having that _anymore_.

And he tried to hide that. He was pretty good at it.

Tony - the other Tony; the flesh-and-bones Tony - He had offered to build a new body for Tony #2, but the later declined, halfheartedly, stating many reasons why he didn't need or want some robot body.

But Riri knew the real reason was _her_. Because Tony couldn't help her navigate her suit anymore, if he wasn't in ghost form.

He had refused a life with body and senses for Riri!

And he even tried to keep that a secret from her, so she wouldn't fell bad (alltough she _did_ notice the deep sadness inside his eyes, everytime they made that high five thing, where they would move their hands so it looks like they're touching (this had somehow become their thing, don't ask)).

So, yeah, there were probably a billion reasons for why to love digital Tony Stark, and why you should think it's totally normal to fall for him.

After he seems to be a good guy to love. Not some idiot, who's an assshole and absolutely doesn't deserve any kind of attention from you.

But did Riri really _want_ to love Tony?

What if he'd requit this love? Because, really, that'd be the worst for Riri.

It'd break her heart.

He would love her, maybe as much as she loved him...

But he could never feel her.

Never touch her, never feel her warm skin against his, her breath, her heartbeat...

And maybe _she_ 'd also miss this?

 _Maybe_ she did _already_.

She missed- she _craved_ feeling him. Feeling that he's warm, that he's _alive_...

That he's _really there_.

But Tony, her Tony, her best friend in the entire multiverse, the one person she can _always_ count on...

He doesn't have a body.

He doesn't send out warmth, doesn't have a beating heart...

But that's okay. Riri knew. She always had known.

It never mattered. Tonys' physical form had never mattered. And never would.

Because Riri loved him. And when you really love someone? Then you can - as cheesy as that may sound - overcome every and any obstacle in your way.

And so they got used to it. Riri and Tony.

They got used to "only" being able to talk to each other, looking at each other, being in each others presence without physicial contact.

And, really, when you think about it, they're so _extremely_ _lucky_. Because they _have_ each other. They spend every moment of their lives together, knowing that they can trust the other with their lives and _do_ _so_.

Neither of them has a single secret from the other (Tony thinks it's only fair that Riri knows everything about him, when he automatically knows everything about her, as her personal A.I.).

And so it works.

Their weird and awkward, but absolutely perfect relationship.

They _make_ it work. Every single day and night of their lives.

And, yeah, sometimes it hurts. Sometimes it hurts so, _so_ bad.

Like that one time, at the end of one of the most horrible days in the history of earth. When all the superheroes, together, had defended the planet...

When earth had been saved, but _so_ _many_ friends and allies had been lost.

That day, when even the loss of villains had stung and wrenched Riris' wanna-be _invincible_ heart...

When the world had been lying in ruins and ash, and Riri was alive, but couldn't keep herself on her feet any longer. The pain and heartache, the exhaustion - both physical and emotional - too strong to keep fighting against.

On that day Riri had wanted to hug her Tony so much more badly than usual.

But she couldn't.

And so - kneeing there in the dirt, her hands on her knees, holding her upright - she simply had rested her forehead on the chest of the Iron Man armor A.I. Tony had been wearing. When he had sat down in front of her, one armored hand resting on her bloody one.

The pain and sadness in his eyes had been evident; she could see how much he had wanted to hug her, too, that day.

Just hold her, make sure she knew he was there for her.

But those days had passed. Such days always did.

And so there were way more good days than bad ones.

And that made it work.

No matter what happened, no matter what apparent problems Riris' and Tonys' relationship had to struggle with...

_Nothing_ could break these two apart.

_Never_ would Riri let that happen.

Neither would Tony. She knew that from the bottom of her heart.

Just like she knew, that it was okay.

As weird and awkward and scaring it may have seen at the beginning.

But loving her best friend? An A.I., who wasn't even a real A.I.? The digital concousness, the essence of her mentor and idol? The guy, who had suddenly, without any kind of warning, popped up in her life, invalided her privacy and annoyed her to death?

Yap.

_Falling in love with Tony..._

Was the best thing that had ever happened to Riri.

**Author's Note:**

> Let's be honest... Someone had to write this. ;-P
> 
> I really hope you enjoyed it! And if you did... PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS AND KUDOS!!! COMMENTS ARE ALL THAT KEEPS ME WRITING!!! :D Thanks! 
> 
> P.S.: Maybe you noticed, that I had some problems with the constant switching between the two past tenses. I'm really sorry for that. XP
> 
> P.P.S.: If you want to, go follow me on tumblr @That-Bloodfire-Dragon (The Crazed Thoughts of a BloodFire Dragon). :D


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